That is a very real concern, but personally, I consider even that to be secondary to the fact that, at least around here, the police (including sheriffs and state troopers), supported by DAs, take the view that deaths of cyclists on public roads are "unfortunate accidents" and won't even attempt to prosecute drivers who kill cyclists. 😥

I was happy enough to ride my bicycle in the UK, even in London including central London (my chain came off once while I was riding around Marble Arch!!! ), but I think anyone who rides a bicycle in the US on a highway (outside of a residential estate/ neighbourhood, or maybe city centres) has to be suicidal.

I have seen a few of those tiny trucks around here. Apparently you can legally register then in Washington State , but not in Oregon.

I wouldn't feel save in residential /city center areas either.

As for small cars - saw this in Bamberg, Germany in October ... pretty tiny!

It's a warmed-over Isetta bubble car, with an extra wheel.

In many states in the EU the little 50cc cars don't require a full driving licence.
They serve a couple of niches, young drivers who aren't old enough for a full licence, and older drivers who might have had their licence revoked due to such transgressions as drink driving.
They don't look particularly safe and I'm not even sure if they have to pass NCAP tests.
Andy

That would be in line with the motor-bike situation; at least "when I was a lad", you could ride a bike up to 250 cc without having passed the test. Is that still the law in UK? Of course this led to 250cc bikes being incredibly well-tuned/highly refined, such that a 250 would be faster / more dangerous than a 350! I think this resulted in horsepower limitations ... but my memory is hazy on that point.

Which brings me to a 'driving related' observation (well, road-related). In the US, teenagers are now riding around on battery-powered bikes, and some of them are pretty powerful. I foresee a rash of nasty accidents in the future ... I don't think there's any cohesive regulation on 'e-bikes' to date. Is this also happening in Europe?

You're definitely showing your age there! The 250cc limit for a provisional license was halved to 125cc in 1983, right around the time I was old enough for a licence (though I've never held a bike licence). I think that was the year after the licencing rules were changed to prohibit anyone riding around forever on a provisional licence.

And to your point about highly tuned 250cc bikes, unsurprisingly it was only a few years after the 125cc cap was introduced that there were tuning kits available to take a 125cc bike to 70mph.

I do remember that one of the most desirable 250cc bikes of the early 1980's was a Honda 250 Superdream, and the 125cc limit caused Honda to immediately produce a 125cc Superdream, which looked emaciated compared to the 250.

I had a Honda 250cc circa 1980, while living in North London and driving into Uni in central London (cars were not an option!); then I passed the test, and got a Suzuki GT-380 3-cylinder 2-stroke - a real noisy, smelly, but incredibly fast rocket! I then got a job outside of London (Watford) so managed to get a car (paid 150 GBP for it!) - a Datsun 120Y! Unbelievably reliable little econo-box!

The Citroen AMI is quite popular with school boys where I live. The AMI performs well in the early morning rush hour traffic. I expect it would be certain death in a collision. I havent read of any accidents in the local news.

I had a SuzukI GT185 and a Suzuki GS400 when I was a student. I fancied a GT-380 but never saw one for sale. I have an electric mountain bike now and it is more fun than a motorcycle.

At my school in England there was no 6th form so no pupils had cars. Here at Konzum, Đurđevac there is a high school next door to the the supermarket and I suspect quite a few pupils park in the Konzum car park. There are certainly a lot more spaces during the school holidays. Sometimes the car park is full but there are about 5 customers inside the shop!

I had a GT185 as well. And although I've owned a good many of the 90's crotch rockets that little beast was quite possibly one of the scariest/fun bikes I've owned. It's 2 stroke capabilities and awful 70's tires far exceeded it's stopping/handling abillity!!!

I fell off going round a roundabout in Newcastle on a wet night in rush hour traffic. As you say the tyres weren't too good.